The income required to buy a new home in Ottawa dropped $280 in May, as home prices declined in the capital this spring. A new report from Ratehub.ca shows homebuyers in the capital needed an income of $134,020 in May to buy an average-priced home, down from $134,300 in April. The income required to buy a home in February was $133,600. According to the report, the average priced home in Ottawa was $629,800 in May, down from $631,200 in April. Ratehub.ca looks at the income required to buy a home with a 10 per cent down payment, a 25-year amortization, $4,000 in annual property taxes and a monthly heating bill of $150. The mortgage rate was 4.38 per cent and the stress test rate of 6.38 per cent. The income required to buy a home dropped $1,400 in Vancouver and $3,480 in Hamilton as home prices dropped in the two markets. According to Ratehub.ca, the income required to buy a home increased in eight markets across Canada, including $1,690 a month in St. John’s, $1,430 in Halifax, $980 in Montreal and $650 in Toronto. “The majority of the cities we studied saw home affordability worsen month-over-month. Of the 13 cities studied, eight saw home affordability worsen, four saw improvement and one city saw no change,” Penelope Graham, mortgage expert at Ratehub.ca, said in a statement. “Mortgage rates remained unchanged again this month, which means affordability changes were due to home price increases and decreases in each city.”
